The Pittsburgh Pirates broke out of a batting slump to defeat the San Diego Padres 9-4 last night at PNC Park. It was the opening game of a three-game series. Rookie infielder Nick Gonzales had two hits, including his first career home run. Third baseman Rodolfo Castro and catcher Austin Hedges had two hits each, ending deep slumps. The Pirates totaled 16 hits in the game.
Starting pitcher Rich Hill evened his record at 7-7. He allowed four runs on nine hits, with three of the runs allowed coming in the second inning. The Bucs answered with three runs in the bottom of the second, and took the lead to stay with two more runs in the third. Veterans Andrew McCutchen and Carlos Santana led the Pirates with three hits each. Santana and Jack Suwinski added home runs. Suwinski now has 16 home runs, snapping an 0-for-29 hitless streak.
The Pirates debuted their “City Connect” uniforms and hosted Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin, a McKees Rocks native, to throw out the first pitch to Andrew McCutchen.
The Bucs and Padres play again tonight at 7:05pm. Pre-game on WISR begins at 6:40pm. Mitch Keller will start for the Pirates. He is 8-3 with a 3.45 ERA this season.